TNA wants to re-merge N&E

19 June 2011 09:58 pm Views - 4697

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had renewed its call for the re-merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces as a single political administrative unit, former MP M.K. Sivajilingam said yesterday.

Mr. Sivajilingam, TNA candidate of the July 23 election to the Velvetithurai Urban Council, told Daily Mirror that the party would once again ask for a mandate from people to evolve a negotiated political solution with the right to self determination.

The former MP noted that the North and the East should be converted to a single political administrative unit.

“We will campaign for such demands. We try to get the powers devolved to this unit as far as possible,” he said.

He said that the TNA demanded for the early establishment of civil administration in the North, the dismantling of the military camps, the completion of the resettlement of displaced persons and the release of detainees.

The TNA had a meeting for the candidates contesting the election to some local bodies in the North yesterday.

TNA spokesman MP Suresh Premachandran said that the re-merger of the North and the East had been their demand right from the beginning.
Asked whether it was mentioned in the political proposals handed over to the government recently, he said that the TNA informed its stand in this regard to the ruling party at the very beginning of the series of talks.

“We did not include it in the political proposals as a result. But, it has been our stand,” he said. (KB)